Do I ship it?

Games › Grand Strategy › Grand Strategy + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Platformer Grand Strategy?

Grand Strategy + Platformer

Only 9 developers shipped a Platformer Grand Strategy in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, The Armed Shadow, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 6 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

Only 3 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $240 against a market of $1.5k. 6 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 6 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grand Strategy + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $657 → $358 → $1.9k → $809 → $416
Outcomes for Grand Strategy + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $1.9k (exactly $1,948)
Top 5% $4.2k (exactly $4,192)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 25
Announced 6
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $4.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue too few recent games to read momentum, supply 50% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Grand Strategy
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Grand Strategy, Platformer; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Action, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Colorful, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 8 games average 94% positive over 81 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $240, 1 in 4 over $1.9k, 1 in 20 over $4.1k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 6 games are announced against 3 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Grand Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RoguelikeFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 22 announced
  2. + SportsFair21 devs · median $2.1k · 26 announced
  3. + RogueliteFair21 devs · median $2.0k · 23 announced
  4. + CrimeFair8 devs · median $1.9k · 13 announced
  5. + RacingFair8 devs · median $1.8k · 7 announced
  6. + IncrementalFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 27 announced
  7. + Artificial IntelligenceLong shot21 devs · median $750 · 38 announced
  8. + TabletopLong shot26 devs · median $450 · 26 announced
  9. + Turn-BasedPoor odds19 devs · median $131k · 20 announced
  10. + SandboxPoor odds59 devs · median $51k · 125 announced
  11. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds15 devs · median $37k · 29 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds54 devs · median $34k · 117 announced

All 104 pairs on the Grand Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Magic Trap 2024 · $34k Suns of Wiraqocha 2023 · $9.6k The Armed Shadow 2025 · $5.1k Inflafrog: Collector's Edition 2025 · $4.2k Dangerous line 2024 · $3.3k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Magic Trap older $49.99 23 86% 690 $34k (exactly $34,493) Gamesforgames
Suns of Wiraqocha older $4.99 64 98% 1.9k $9.6k (exactly $9,581) Alejandro Medina, Rafael Gonzalez-Otoya… (Alejandro Medina, Rafael Gonzalez-Otoya B., Adrian Blume)
The Armed Shadow $9.99 17 94% 510 $5.1k (exactly $5,095) Gamesforgames
Inflafrog: Collector's Edition $4.99 28 100% 840 $4.2k (exactly $4,192) Nice Cream
Dangerous line $9.99 11 100% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) Gamesforgames
Gold Rush! 2 older $7.99 12 58% 360 $2.9k (exactly $2,876) Sunlight Games
Maiz older $3.99 18 72% 540 $2.2k (exactly $2,155) Critix Studios
Explore Dreams: Dreamcore $12.99 5 80% 150 $1.9k (exactly $1,948) Maxwell Play
Putin VS Zombies older $0.99 60 90% 1.8k $1.8k (exactly $1,782) IndieGameMamaDev
Trials Of Randoom $8.99 3 100% 90 $809 (exactly $809) Teion Games
Pharaoh's Leap $0.99 14 85% 420 $416 (exactly $416) Gamesforgames
Reality Rifts $3.99 2 50% 60 $239 (exactly $239) Infinity Requiem Studio
Bulmaca Parkur Yüksek Çıkış $0.99 1 100% 30 $30 (exactly $30) Semih Naroğlu
Oblivion's Gate · EA $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) TTech Studio
Stealth Maker $0.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) VirtualGameStudio

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.